Ayami Mutō (武藤 彩未, Mutō Ayami, born April 29, 1996) is a Japanese idol, singer, and model. She was represented by
Amuse, Inc. from 2004 to 2015, and has been a member of three musical groups formed by the company:
Karen Girl's,
Sakura Gakuin, and its first sub-unit
Twinklestars.
Biography
Mutō was born in a hospital in
Ikebukuro,
Toshima, Tokyo, on April 29, 1996.[1] Her father, Yoshinori Mutō is a horse trainer,[2] and her younger brother Miyabi Mutō is a horse jockey.[3]
Joining the talent agency
Amuse, Inc. in 2004, Mutō began her career as a
child model for the magazine Kids Style. In 2008, she joined the idol group
Karen Girl's alongside
Suzuka Nakamoto and Yuika Shima. The trio was active for one year.[4]
In 2010, Mutō and Nakamoto joined idol group
Sakura Gakuin, as one of the founding members, and as the Student Council President in the school theme of the group.[5] Later that year, Mutō joined the group's first sub-unit Twinklestars, which acts as a school baton-twirling club.[6] On March 25, 2012, she graduated from Sakura Gakuin.[7]
In April 2013, Mutō began a solo project,[4] releasing her first double
cover EP, DNA1980, in July, coinciding with a series of headlining shows.[8] In 2014, she returned to the stage to begin a solo career in major, releasing her first studio album, Eien to Shunkan, in April.[9]
On December 16, 2015, Mutō announced on her Twitter and her profile page on
Amuse that she would be going on hiatus.[10] She continues to periodically release song covers on her personal
YouTube channel.[11]
On October 25, 2018, Mutō announced on Twitter that she will be returning to performing live on December 1, 2018.[12][13][14]
She released her first photo book on March 12, 2024, titled The First and The Last (最初で最後, Saisho de Saigo), to commemorate 10 years since her solo debut.[15][16]